Editorial: Time to go back to reusable bags, please – with precautions
On June 22, 2020, over 100 health experts from around the world issued a statement about the relative safety of reusables compared with single-use plastics, cups, and so on, with regard to transmitting COVID-19. Their statement can be found here; in it, they state, “Based on the best available science and guidance from public...
Column: From the Hill -- Racism
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has focussed the world on the blight of racism. In the days and weeks since that event, millions have marched through the streets and there has been much said and written about racism, whether it be conversations around systemic racism or articles about the use of...
BC mine proposed in critical caribou habitat shows how endangered species ‘fall through the cracks’
If the newly proposed Sukunka coal mine follows the same trajectory as nearly every project reviewed under the province’s environmental assessment process, it will be approved even if it is found to have harmful effects on caribou By Jimmy Thomson for The Narwhal B.C. is considering a proposal for a new coal mine, planned...
Minister’s statement on Police Act reform
Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, has released the following statement in response to calls for British Columbia’s Police Act reform: “Everyone deserves to be treated fairly by the police, and our government acknowledges that for many Black, Indigenous and other people of colour, that hasn’t...
Opinion: Policy Options for Defunding the Police & Creating Alternative Services of Safety and Support
(Editor’s Note: There are different interpretations of the call to “defund the police.” Few people mean, “do away with all police” – but some do. Our local RCMP detachment suffers already from lack of personnel, and appears to take a humane and preventative approach, to the best of my knowledge. This opinion piece includes...
Editorial: Racists “Я” us.
Racism. It’s a hot topic because the examples of racist brutality against Black and Indigenous people have become undeniable – many are proven by on-the-spot videos. Hordes of citizens in both the USA and Canada are protesting systemic racist police brutality and murder, many are rioting, and many riots are accompanied by...
Column: 'Normal' won't do it
After months of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people just want to get back to “normal.” We will overcome this crisis. But “normal” means continued climate disruption and species extinction, growing inequalities, increasing pollution and health risks and the possibility of further new disease outbreaks. We...
In-depth: Wildfires, deforestation and flooding
Water-repellent forest floors, soil erosion and a lack of tree cover all influence how snowpack melts in the spring By Natalia Balcerzak, Local Journalism Initiative reporter for The Narwhal The arrival of spring brought a surge of warm weather to Williams Lake, in the Cariboo region of B.C., and with it a rush of...
Column: Rewilding
In early 1995, eight grey wolves were transferred from Jasper National Park in Alberta to Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. Within two years, 23 more were brought in. The last wolves in Yellowstone had been killed in the 1920s. What happened next was remarkable. Over time, the wolves not only reduced rapidly increasing...
Column: From the Hill -- For a fairer, safer, healthier society
At this time of year, we mark two days to remember the contribution and sacrifice that workers make for our society--the National Day of Mourning on April 28th and International Workers Day on May 1st. On the National Day of Mourning we remember those people who died in the course of their work. People who went to work in ...
